クリの花が放つ独特の匂いは人々の評価が分かれるところですが、真夏に向かい盛んに枝葉を繁らせる木々に溢れる精気の匂いともいえます。
The peculiar scent of chestnut flowers is where people like and dislike, but it can also be said to be the scent of the spirit that overflows in the trees that actively grow branches and leaves toward midsummer.
【仮名】クリ
【和名】栗
【英名】Chestnut
【学名】Castanea
【誕生】06/ 20, 10/ 24
【開花】05, 06月
【花色】White
クリ
クリの自生
クリはブナ科の落葉高木。原種は日本、中国、欧州、北米の４系統です。日本では北海道から九州まで分布し、日当たりと水はけのよい山野に自生。自生種は「山栗」や「柴栗」と呼ばれ、実の大きな改良種の「丹波栗」などが農耕地で栽培されています。花言葉は「満足」「豪奢」。
クリの木
クリの木はとても大きくなります。手遊び歌の「大きな栗の木の下で」は英国の民謡。それが米国に伝わり、ボーイスカウトによって広がりました。日本へは第二次世界大戦後、進駐軍から伝わり、ＮＨＫの番組で紹介。作曲者も作詞者も訳詞者も不詳のまま動作付きで普及しました。
クリの花
クリの花は雌雄異花。多数の雄花が紐状に咲き、その付け根に地味な雌花が咲きます。自家受粉しないため、強い臭気で昆虫を誘き寄せ、送受粉する虫媒花。独特の匂いは人々の評価が分かれるところですが、真夏に向かい盛んに枝葉を繁らせる木々に溢れる精気の匂いともいえます。
クリの実
クリの実は毬が褐変、裂開して枝から落ちたときが食べごろ。毬が普通の果実の果皮に、鬼皮が果肉に、渋皮が種皮に相当し、その中身が可食部です。人類にとって古くから貴重な炭水化物の摂取源。日本でも米のような穀類の栽培が始まる前はクリの木を植えて実を採っていました。
クリの利用
クリは昔、中国で実や葉が薬に利用。実はデンプンのほかにビタミンＣやカリウム、葉は抗酸化作用があるポリフェノールの一種であるタンニンを多く含みます。クリの花の蜂蜜は鉄分などのミネラル類に富み、濃厚な色と味で人気。木は堅く重く腐りにくく、かつて多用されました。
Chestnut
Chestnut native
Chestnut is a deciduous tree of the family Fagaceae. The original species are Japan, China, Europe, and North America. In Japan, it is distributed from Hokkaido to Kyushu and grows naturally in sunny and well-drained mountains. Native species are called “mountain chestnut” and “small chestnut”, and large improved species such as “Tamba chestnut” are cultivated on agricultural land. The flower language is “satisfaction” and “luxury”.
Chestnut tree
The chestnut tree grows very large. The hand-playing song “Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree” is an English folk song. It was introduced to the United States and spread by Boy Scouts. After World War II, it was introduced to Japan by General Headquarters and introduced on an NHK program. The composer, the lyricist, and the translator remained unknown, and became popular with movement.
Chestnut flower
Chestnut flowers are male and female. Many male flowers bloom in a string shape, and sober female flowers bloom at the base. Entomophily that attracts insects with a strong odor and sends and pollinates because it does not self-pollinate. People’s evaluations are divided for the unique scent, but it can also be said to be the scent of the spirit that overflows in the trees, which actively grows branches and leaves toward midsummer.
Chestnut fruit
The chestnut fruit is about to be eaten when the chestnut turns brown, dehiscences and falls off the branch. The pericarp is the skin of ordinary fruits, the outer shell is the pulp, and the inner skin is the seed coat, and the contents are the edible part. It had long been a valuable source of carbohydrates for humankind. Even in Japan, chestnut trees were planted and harvested before the cultivation of grains such as rice began.
Use of chestnuts
Chestnuts used to be used as medicines in China for fruits and leaves. In addition to starch, fruits are rich in vitamin C and potassium, and leaves are rich in tannin, a type of polyphenol that has antioxidant properties. Chestnut flower honey is rich in minerals such as iron and is popular for its rich color and taste. Wood is hard, heavy and resistant to rot, and was once heavily used.
